23 Comments
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Meg's avatar

Love this, Sarah. You nail it. The neurospicy kids often make themselves known at school visits, and they are my favorite. I always loved Anne of Green Gables, and Lilo definitely becomes more and more relatable the more I watch that movie. A new fave is Frieren the elf :)

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Yessss! Anne is a classic one!!! And I don’t know Frieren, but apparently I need to!!

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Meg's avatar

Go watch or read Frieren: Journey's End. I think you'd really like it!

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26thAvenuePoet (Elizabeth)'s avatar

Harriet the Spy is a weird girl I didn't meet until I was a (weird) adult, but I wanted -- want -- to let myself be weirder in specifically Harriet-like ways.

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Ooooh she’s such a good one!!

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Diane Martin's avatar

I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughts on "muchness" and encouraging that in fiction. I've got a girl filled with muchness in the middle grade fantasy I'm writing, and you've given me a helpful push to let that be okay in her world.

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Yessss I love that!!! Let’s have all the Much-filled girls!

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Meg's avatar

Would it be weird if I quoted you for that on an epigraph for my next book? I love that phrase "much-filled girls" and it feels like it captures so much of what I am trying to write with my neurospicy mg protags!

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Oh my gosh are you kidding!!! This is amazing, that would be an honor!!

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Meg's avatar

Thanks so much! I'll make a note :)

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Janet Fox's avatar

Such an excellent post, Sarah. Love me those weird girls!

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Thank you!! I love them too :D

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Claire Swinarski's avatar

Bluey is truly the GOAT. No notes. I find myself watching it in the background while my 3-year-old has it on and I honestly have gotten so many parenting tips from Bandit and Chili!

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Sarah Allen's avatar

YEP.

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Maryann's avatar

Meg Murry (and her mom who makes family dinner on the Bunsen burner in her lab)

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Ooooh yes!!! Good one!!

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Animal Battle Academy's avatar

Ms Frizzle, Eliza Thornberry, yes! Fantastic post - loved this post as a mom writing with her 7 year old (leaning into an obsession with hypothetical animal battle matchups!)

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Sarah Allen's avatar

I love that so much!

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jybyky's avatar

Inspirational writing.

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Misha Gerrick's avatar

So true! Also Ginger from As Told by Ginger ^_^

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Sarah Allen's avatar

Ooooh, love it!!

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Kevin Cornell's avatar

If I could be stuck the rest of my life as Tina Belcher, I'd be pretty happy about that.

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Sarah Allen's avatar

I just watched the episode where she loses the car race on purpose and instead pushes Louise over the finish line first and she's simply so wonderful and amazing.

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